of First Grade ‘ s

Meet your First Grade Team!  Ms.Rocha  Mrs. Holland  Mr. Flank  Mrs. Dailey  Ms. Stas  Ms. Zimmerer

 Attendance- Students are required to attend school and to be on time. School day hours are: 7:45-2:45.  Absences- Please or send a note for reason of absence to the office to keep accurate records.

Assessments  DRA: administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to measure accuracy, fluency, and comprehension in reading.  Math Benchmarks: administered at the beginning, middle and end of the year to measure math skills.  Writing Rubric: used to assess students’ weekly writing expectations. DRA: Beginning of the Year- No cap but ideal level would be around an 8 Middle of the Year- Level 12 or higher End of the Year- Level 20 or higher Writing: Beginning of the Year- Level 4 End of the Year- Level 6

Awards  We will give a leadership and character award each 6 weeks.  Students will be honored for A and AB Honor roll at the end of each 6 weeks.  More information about those days will be sent home in the next few weeks.

 Behavior- each teacher will send home a behavior plan that is used in the classroom.  Birthdays- Cupcakes, cookies or donuts can be brought to the front office for birthday celebrations and will be served the last 30 minutes of the school day. We do not allow cameras or pictures to be taken due to privacy laws.

 Conferences- Conference time is 9:40-10:33  Please contact your child’s teacher to set up an appointment.

 DRA-This stands for Developmental Reading Assessment. This is given to first graders at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to determine their progress and goals for reading.

Everything you need to know about the workshop model.  Opening Meeting: Mini lesson  Work Period: Students work on tasks and create products.  Closing Meeting: Students share products created and discuss next steps.

 Field Trips- permission slips with information specific to each event will be sent home prior to each trip. Please send them back signed as quickly as possible.

Grades-  A  89-80B  79-70C  69 or below Failing First Grade will NOT have a report card sent home the first six weeks. We will be having parent/teacher conferences in October that take the place of report cards.

Homework  Check for homework in daily folder  Read every night  Parent involvement

 I set goals!  Students will set goals throughout the year to help improve their reading.

 Lunch- our lunch time is 11:45-12:15, you may come eat lunch with your child (except during STARR testing days). However please be aware that no other student can join them. There will be tables set up outside of the cafeteria for you to sit at.

Language Arts  Phonics: phonograms (sounds), phonemic awareness and handwriting focus  Reading: accuracy with sight words and sounding out, fluency, comprehension and stamina; Readers Workshop  Writing: consistently generating ideas, composing, editing, and using conventions and correct spelling; Writers Workshop  Spelling: phonetic spelling is readable, correct spelling of sight words and checking spelling

Math  Investigations  Number: 0-120, fractions, money, addition/subtraction to 20  Patterns: in objects and numbers (skip counting, odd/even, etc.)  Geometry: shapes and solids  Measurement: estimating, nonstandard units, time  Probability/Statistics: graphing, certain/impossible  Problem Solving: pattern, picture, guess and check

Make-up Work Beck’s Guidelines:  Make-up work may be requested only if a child has been absent for more than two days. Parents may the front office before 9:00 a.m. to request homework on the second day of an absence. The make-up work will then be available at the front desk at 3:20 p.m. on the second day.  Work will not be sent home with siblings, neighbors, or friends. Teachers often need to work with children when they return to school, so not all work will be sent home

Newsletter- every Monday a newsletter will be sent through and posted on our teacher webpages with important information about upcoming events, curriculum, school news and other grade level information about the coming week. If you would like a hard copy please let your child’s teacher know.

 Open House- A note will be sent home announcing time and date. Open house is usually in March.

Parent Volunteers- we always need parent volunteers. See your child’s teacher about projects you can help with throughout the year. Background checks must be completed and on file with the office before parents volunteer.

 Recess- First graders have recess daily. However, the district has guidelines about weather that prevent us from going out at times.  Report Cards- First graders receive report cards each six weeks except for the first six weeks. The report card contains numerical grades and letter grades.

 Schedules- class schedules will be posted on the team webpage.  Specials- Art, PE, Music are on a rotating schedule but please make sure your child wear tennis shoes every day.

Special Events Fall and Spring Field Trips Winter Party Fairy Tale Ball – Friday, January 31 st Field Day - May

Specials Classes Curriculum Overview and Grading Policy MUSIC-Mr.Garza ART-Mrs. Gamache P.E.-Mrs. Blakely

Science  Scientific Process  Matter  Weather  Seasons  Living and Nonliving  Seed to Plant  Life Cycles  Magnets  Water Cycle

Standard Based Bulletin Boards  Components Quality Student Work Standards (TEKS) Description of the Task Rubrics Insightful Teacher Commentary/Student commentary

 Tardies- students are counted tardy at 7:50, they will receive a tardy slip from the office before they come to class.  Toys- are not allowed at school and will be collected and arrangements will be made for parents to come and pick them up from the office.  Transportation changes- If you have any questions or  concerns regarding transportation at Northwest, please contact Chris Sisk, Durham Routing Coordinator, or Charlotte Shanks, General Manager, at or ; Dennis McCreary, NISD Assistant Superintendent for Facilities, Planning, and Construction, at ; or send an to NOTE: Any changes in transportation must be done in writing or call the office directly. Please make sure that you call 30 minutes prior to school being dismissed.

 Visitors Badge-You will be required to sign in at the office and get a visitors badge any time that you enter the school.

 Websites- To access the district website, go to Each teacher has a webpage. To find it, choose Beck from the “Schools” menu at the top. Then click on the teacher’s name.

We are looking forward to growing with you this year! Thanks for coming!